100% Precision

3-D is better than 2-D

Seeing is Believing

If someone has a cavity in the proximal contact (areas not visible without x-rays), even a dentist won’t be able to see it. The only way to detect these would be by taking x-rays. Many dental pathologies don't hurt and elude visual detection, therefore, x-rays are extremely important for proper diagnosis. If dentists didn’t have x-rays to rely on, many people would end up with either extractions or lots of root canals and crowns.

At our practice, every room is equipped with two computer monitors in each room so that our patients could see the supersized images of their dental x-rays. These large images on the monitor allow us to reveal the precise location and size of their cavities. For areas that x-rays cannot show, we utilize intraoral cameras so people can see the problem on the monitor.

Radiation and Dental X-rays

Current studies show that people in the USA are exposed to about 3600 μSv of background radiation annually. Background radiation include but are not limited to sources such as air, ingestion of food and water, terrestrial radiation, cosmic radiation, consumer items, industrial and occupational sources, etc.Our existing patients are only exposed to 4 bitewing x-rays every year when they come in for a check-up and a cleaning. 4 dental x-rays are equivalent to only 0.1% of annual background radiation.This is the same as about 8 hours of background radiation. For a complete and thorough diagnosis, all new patients take a full mouth series of x-rays. Please note that full mouth series radiation exposure is equivalent to about only 0.5% of annual background radiation. This identical to radiation exposure of about 1.825 days of living in the USA. Besides cavities, dental x-rays allow our dentists to diagnose dangerous infections that may otherwise go unnoticed. ​

3-D Cone Beam Dental CT Scan vs Conventional 2-D X-ray

With cone beam dental CT scan, dentists can get amazingly detailed 3-D views of the facial skeleton and teeth.Traditional dental X-rays can capture limited two-dimensional (2-D or flat) views of hard tissues (bone and teeth, for example), while CBCT can image these anatomical structures with less distortion, more clarity, and unlimited perspectives of areas of interest. These details allow a doctor to make accurate diagnosis and choice of treatment. Dentists can not treat what they can not see, and cone beam CBCT scans show the complete 3-dimension picture, thereby allowing better diagnosis and more accurate treatment results. Compared to 2-d x-rays, 3-d xrays are infinitely superior since it offers the “complete” picture. ​

Our Patient is the Winner with 3-D Cone Beam Dental CT Scan

It is rare to find a general/family dentist who invested in this new cutting edge imaging system. Why? The reason is the cost. This extraordinary new technology is very expensive. Therefore, even some dental specialists, such as oral surgeons and orthodontists, have not yet embraced this new imaging system. At our practice, our philosophy is, and has always has been, providing the very best dental care, no matter how much it costs us. But the costs are not passed on to our patients, because our fees are identical to or even lower than those of other dentists in the Sammamish area. Don't believe us? Call around. In fact, we are one of the few dentists in Sammamish who still accept Washington Dental Service, despite their recent large fee reductions to dentists.